Doctrine – Page 2

Casting Down Imaginations

In our daily battles with sin, if we’re not intentional we can find ourselves continually playing defense, reacting to our own sins after the fact, trying to recover and undo the damage.

Yet how can we ever win a battle if we’re always on defense? How do we go on the offensive in striving against our sin?

God says the weapons of our warfare are mighty through Him to pull down strongholds (2Co 10:4), enabling us to cast down our imaginations and every high thing within us that exalts itself contrary to the knowledge of God (5a), so we may bring all our thoughts under control to the obedience of Christ (5b) This war is not focused on changing the world: it’s about delivering ourselves from being slaves to sin. (Ro 6:16)

Once we become aware of a weakness in our spiritual defenses, a sin that’s getting the best of us (He 12:1), or any pattern of behavior which is un-Christlike (1Pe 2:21), where we are missing the mark (Ja 4:17), we can go on the offensive by engaging our imagination with the power of Christ and the sword of the Spirit: God’s Word. (Ep 6:17)

Reimagine the scenario in which we failed, replaying it in our mind while consciously inviting Father God into the experience. (Ep 4:6) Invite Him to show us the lies driving our behavior (Ps 139:23-24), empowering the stronghold holding us captive (Jn 8:32), and the related scriptures from His living Word which expose and address these lies. (He 4:12)

Then we speak the truth of God’s living Word along with Him into ourselves and ask Him to give us repentance to receive and acknowledge the truth in the very deepest places of our mind and heart. (2Ti 2:26) In this way we receive with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to deliver (save) our souls. (Ja 1:21) We cast down the imagination itself, by putting it under and making it subject to the Word of God until it has no more hold on us, and then ask God to bring that part of our spirit, heart, mind and soul into obedience and set us free. (Ro 7:24-25a)

Once we overcome a particular sin pattern like this, we can bookmark it and periodically check to ensure we’re still free by replaying related scenarios in our mind as part of an entire series where we’ve experienced failure and have been set free, noting in each one that we’re still responding as Jesus would. If we’ve lapsed at all, we can cleanse ourselves again with the washing of water by the Word in the same fashion to regain and maintain our freedom. (Ep 5:26) This is how we add virtue — moral excellence — to our Faith (2Pe 1:5), overcome the world and live in victory. (1Jn 5:4)

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Great in the Kingdom

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Jesus tells us there’s a hierarchy in Heaven, a ranking or metric whereby some believers are counted great and others least in God’s kingdom. (Mt 5:19) Though salvation is by grace and not by works (2Ti 1:9), works are evidently very important. (Ro 2:9)

Jesus Christ explains the standard by which He will measure us all to define this eternal ranking in His kingdom; He lays it out very plainly: “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:19) Jesus is talking about Torah, the Mosaic Law; (17-18) He will evaluate everyone in His kingdom based on how we have respected Torah, His Law, the Law of God. Did we do our best to keep all of it as a manner of life and teach others to do so? Or did we break certain parts of it and encourage others to do so?

So, Jesus will give every one of His saints a grade in Heaven based on how we keep His Law, even the least of His commandments: the seemingly obsolete and obscure laws He laid out for us in the Old Testament in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Do we love them (Ps 119:97), delight in them (Ro 7:22), and try our best to love and honor Him in keeping them? (Jn 14:21) Or do we ignore some or all of them? (Ro 2:8-9)

Jesus mentions two grades in His Kingdom: Great and Least: in other words, we’re evidently either getting an A+ or an F.

Clearly, those trying to convince us God’s Law is just for Jews, if they’re in God’s kingdom at all, are ignorantly aiming for an F, and they want us at the bottom as well. Not smart.

We don’t even know what sin is apart from Torah (Ro 7:7); how can we strive against sin (He 12:4) if we have no clue what it actually is?

Jesus’ focus on obedience to the least of His commandments tells us they’re all important. He wasn’t careless or arbitrary in giving us His Law; if we break any of His commandments on purpose, we expose ourselves as lawbreakers (Ja 2:10), those who despise His Law and trample Him underfoot. (He 10:28-29)

Those who don’t yet know Jesus Christ as Judge, don’t yet know Him as He is. (He 10:29-31) Those of us who do, serve Him with fear and rejoice with trembling. (Ps 2:11, Php 2:12)

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Everlasting Burnings

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The doctrine of Hell, a place of everlasting punishment for the wicked, finds its roots in the Tanakh, the Old Testament. While not fully articulated there, the concept exists in seed form, discernible to those attentively studying God’s revelation. (Jn 3:7–10).

While the Tanakh does not explicitly describe Hell as a fiery, eternal abode the way we find it in the New Testament (2Th 1:7), it does contain vivid imagery related to moral distinctions which prefigure and lead us to this understanding. Daniel 12:2 states, “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” This is perhaps the clearest hint given in the Tanakh, introducing a post-mortem, eternal suffering: the righteous inherit “everlasting life,” while the wicked face “everlasting contempt.” The Hebrew olam (everlasting) and deraon (contempt) suggest a permanent, disgraceful fate, a precursor to eternal punishment, which a diligent reader should perceive as divine justice extending beyond the grave.

Isaiah 66:24 illuminates further: “And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.” The unquenched fire and undying worm depict a lasting physical judgment, likely tied symbolically to the Valley of Hinnom (Gehinnom), a place of dismal, abhorrent destruction. This imagery, though focused on physical ruin, hints at an unfathomable eternal consequence for rebellion, foreshadowing a reality more severe than earthly death.

Isaiah 33:14 extends the imagery by capturing the terror of divine judgment: “The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” The “devouring fire” and “everlasting burnings” evidently symbolize God’s holiness and wrath (De 4:24). The dread felt by sinners as they perceive the ultimate threat of divine wrath suggests an inescapable, impending, eternal judgment, a window into Hell’s eternal fire, discernible to those pondering God’s justice.

Psalm 1:5–6 reinforces this: “Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” The “perishing” of the ungodly and their exclusion from the reward of the righteous imply permanent, divine rejection, aligning with the Tanakh’s covenantal framework where disobedience brings destruction (De 28:15). This shows us there will be a final separation of the righteous from the wicked; the wicked be unable to withstand God’s piercing, fiery judgment and will suffer immeasurably in the face of His indignation. (Ps 69:24)

Jesus’ teachings in the New Testament elaborate on the Tanakh’s foreshadowing and imagery, confirming what attentive readers should have understood. In Matthew 25:46 Christ openly declares, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” This directly echoes Daniel 12:2, replacing “shame and everlasting contempt” with “everlasting punishment” and affirming “life eternal” for the righteous. Jesus’ use of “everlasting fire” in Matthew 25:41 (“Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”) draws on Isaiah 66:24’s unquenched fire and Isaiah 33:14’s everlasting burnings, clarifying their eternal nature.

In Mark 9:43–48, Jesus warns, “If thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into Hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” This directly quotes Isaiah 66:24, applying its imagery to Gehenna (Hell), the New Testament term derived from the Tanakh’s Valley of Hinnom. Christ’s repetition of “fire… not quenched” confirms the Tanakh’s seed as a literal, eternal reality, intensifying its horror beyond symbolic destruction.

Jesus’ parable in Luke 16:23–24 further elaborates: “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off… and he cried and said… I am tormented in this flame.” The rich man’s conscious torment in flames builds on Isaiah 33:14s “devouring fire” and Deuteronomy 32:22’s fiery wrath, revealing Hell as a place of suffering, consistent with the Tanakh’s hints of divine indignation (Na 1:6, “Who can stand before his indignation?”).

The New Testament doctrine of Hell is consistent with the Tanakh, which emphasizes God’s holiness, justice and covenant. The Tanakh informs us of the basic concepts — fire (Is 66:24, 33:14), contempt (Da 12:2), and perishing (Ps 1:5–6) —reflecting divine wrath against sin, which Christ’s words clarify as eternal punishment. The righteous’ contrasting fate (Ps 23:5–6, Da 12:2) aligns with the Gospel’s eternal life, showing God’s unified plan: reward for obedience, punishment for rebellion.

Like Nicodemus, who should have understood spiritual rebirth from Ezekiel 36:26 (“A new heart also will I give you”), readers of the Tanakh should discern the reality of Hell in its warnings of judgment. Christ’s teachings do not introduce a foreign concept but fulfill the Tanakh’s moral framework, revealing Hell’s full reality as more horrific than its symbols.

The Tanakh plants the seeds pointing us to the reality of Hell, painting the reality of eternal judgment for the wicked and eternal life for the righteous. Christ’s words confirm and elaborate upon these seeds, unveiling Hell’s eternal fire as the reality behind the Tanakh’s fire, shame, and everlasting contempt. This doctrine, consistent with God’s revelation, calls us to humbly heed scripture’s warnings and embrace the hope of the Gospel.

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Righteousness Exalts

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When given a voice, a social platform or a vote, to influence a community or culture, should we promote a strictly biblical worldview, or should we soften it to accommodate diversity? In other words, should we fully promote what we think is true or neglect to point others toward what we believe is correct for fear of offending them?

Firstly, we should inform our choice here based not on how our fellow-citizens might react, but on whether our choice pleases God or not. In the end, our peers will not be our judges; God Himself will reward us all according to our deeds. (Ro 2:5-6) We ought to please God rather than Man. (Ga 1:10)

Secondly, we should acknowledge Torah as God’s universal standard of righteousness for all Mankind (Ro 3:19); it is not merely Jewish law. (De 4:8) Breaking it is the definition of sin, independent of race or nationality. (1Jn 3:4)

We should also recognize that righteousness exalts a nation, and that sin is a reproach to any people. (Pr 14:34) The more closely our nation’s laws and general civil order align with Torah, the better off all of us will be.

And we should not find it charitable to deviate from the Law of Love in the name of compassion and tolerance. All of Torah hangs on, depends on and is upheld by the Law of Love. (Mt 22:37-40) Denying the Law of Love is not love; this is fear.

Finally, we should observe that when Christ returns, He will rule the nations with a rod of iron (Re 2:25), enforcing Torah with justice, precision and rigor. (Mi 4:2) Freedom of religion is not on His radar.

We should be prepared to humbly yet unapologetically defend God and His laws in the face of those who presumptuously make up moral law as they go; we should not be ashamed of anything in Torah. (Lk 9:26)

Yet we should be careful to promote Torah itself, not man-made additions to it, and anticipate those who might legalistically abuse Torah to create a burden or twist it to impose injustice. This is especially true when our judges are fallible, when society itself is composed largely of unbelievers. Torah was originally imposed in just such a context, ancient Israel, and is perfectly designed for it.

So, we should pray for and encourage the enactment of laws which reflect both the letter and spirit of Torah, which focus on well-defined and achievable behaviors, and which are easily interpreted and supported with impartial, enforceable penalties.

We should also remember that God’s kingdom is not of this world, and that He is working all things out according to His own will and plan. We should expect to be in the small minority in our entire world view and glad for opportunities to engage others to understand and appreciate it as well as we can.

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Hate Evil

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Scripture defines fearing God as hating evil (Pr 8:13), and exhorts all who love God to hate evil. (Ps 97:10) What is evil, and what does hating it feel like? How can we know if we hate evil, or measure how much we hate it? How can we grow in hating evil, and in loving and fearing God?

We should define evil (the way God does) as any tendency to want to sin, or to violate God’s law. (1Jn 3:4) Hating evil is detesting our tendency to want to break God’s law (Ro 7:24), any reluctance or hesitancy to obey God’s law with delight and joy, or any tendency to excuse or make light of any motive or attitude which deviates from perfect holiness. This is the way of the wicked, an abomination to Jehovah. (Pr 15:9)

We should be asking God to search our hearts, to try us and expose our thoughts to uncover our wicked ways (Ps 139:23-24a), any place where we’re not hating evil, where darkness still has a foothold (Pr 4:19), where the enemy can take us captive whenever he likes. (2Ti 2:26)

Our goal is to cooperate with God as He leads us in the everlasting way (Ps 139:24b), as He gives us repentance to acknowledge the truth (2Ti 2:25), the truth that sets us free. (Jn 8:32)

It is insufficient to merely stop desiring sin, to stop being tempted and drawn away by our lust (Ja 1:14), to be neutral or complacent about sin; sin must become utterly disgusting, repulsive, grotesque, abominable, dreadful.

We must begin to recognize what sin does to us and to God, what it costs God and us, and to identify it in all of its ugliness and horror. We cannot toy with sin safely. If we don’t hate sin, we don’t yet see it clearly: we need God to open our eyes and help our hearts understand. (Jn 12:40)

In hungering and thirsting after righteousness, God will fill us (Mt 5:6); in perfecting holiness (He 12:14) in the fear of God we will find it (Mt 7:7-8); in adding to our faith virtue, moral excellence, we build on the rock and find true freedom.

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With One Accord

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In the Sola Scriptura debate, since the Bible is interpreted so many different ways, we might reason that leaving everyone to themselves inevitably leads to chaos — a thousand different denominations and sects spring up, all claiming to have the truth. (1Pe 2:1-2) Is this a good thing? One might argue a final authority is needful to settle doctrinal concerns and provide a common standard.

God provides teachers to try and help us understand Scripture (Ep 4:11) but He never indicates anyone has the right to claim divine authority in a theological dispute.

The church, the local, spiritual brotherhood, is the pillar and ground of the truth. (1Ti 3:15) In other words, a single person, or even a small group, is not what God has ordained to uphold the truth: it is the brothers, working together in community, who are to pursue a common understanding of Scripture together through prayer, study and challenging one another. (1Co 1:11) When we do this in humility, seeking truth together, God will admonish, teach, lead and guide us into all truth. (Jn 16:13)

When there are disagreements, as there should be in most any complex context, it’s tempting to wish for immediate closure to set everyone straight. Instead, the protocol is to take the time to pursue unity through humble consensus. (Ac 15:25) God is evidently pleased to sanctify believers through this collaborative process; imposing authority in the absence of consensus circumvents this healthy dynamic and cuts it short.

If it turns out that a body of believers must make a time-sensitive decision (i.e. a temporal one) and can’t come to consensus, such that they need to appoint someone to resolve the issue, the biblical protocol is that they identify the least esteemed (least qualified / respected, i.e. the most despised) men in the brotherhood and let them make the call. (1Co 6:4) If this is counter-intuitive it’s because we don’t see what God does: God doesn’t want anyone dominating the brotherhood; consensus is His ideal.

God designed His Word the way He did for a reason; He could have written it much more clearly and concisely so things wouldn’t be so messy, but He didn’t. God is evidently more interested in maturing and edifying believers through this difficult, time-intensive, humbling process than having us all blindly subscribe to a common theological statement. Engaging in such discussions to learn and grow helps us understand each other, and ourselves, much more clearly. This reveals what we value and how we think and reason so we can more easily identify those among us who are approved of God, and those who need more time to grow. (1Co 11:19) Bypassing this for a superficial unity is unwise at best.

Divine authority in the church lies inconspicuously within the spiritual, organic consensus of the brotherhood, and nowhere else. This keeps us humble and interdependent on Christ in each other, so that no flesh glories in His presence. (1Co 1:29)

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The First Month

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God has defined a series of interconnected rhythms which harmonize and synchronize our lives with His and with each other. There’s the daily cycle of morning and evening, the weekly sabbath, the monthly and annual cycles, the 7-year sabbatical / debt-release and the 50-year jubilee. Like a master symphony, each of these rhythms interweaves within and among the others to define a godly life mosaic.

The daily pattern is clear: evening followed by morning, night then day, define a recurring pattern of rest, sleep, work and celebration. (Ps 104:20-24) Realigning our thinking with God’s here may be richness well worth exploring: beginning with rest rather than work may improve both.

Ending the day at sunset, beginning our day with an evening of restful reflection and thanksgiving, recounting the blessings and trials of the prior day as we begin another, equips us to rest with intention, purpose and hope as we prep for the next day. Rest before work; we begin by entering into His rest (He 4:3), abiding in Him, committing our plans to Him up front, sleeping on them first, for without Him we can do nothing. (Jn 15:5)

Remembering the sabbath day, to keep the seventh day holy (Ex 20:8), resets our vision on God’s handiwork in Creation (11), that He is Lord of all. It also requires us to commit the prior week to God; if we are laboring in and for Him, we trust that what has been accomplished is sufficient. We can let it go in communion with the saints as we enjoy our weekly fellowship together (Le 23:3), encouraging and edifying one another in preparation for the coming week.

The monthly cycle helps us anticipate and celebrate God’s feasts, knowing which month it is and where we are in God’s annual cycle (Ex 12:2), so we can explore the recurring themes of His prophetic timeline as they are repeatedly played out before us. (Co 2:17) But which month is first? When does it start?

In these daily, weekly, monthly and annual cycles, the earth, sun and moon combine in various ways to show us the general patterns, but they don’t reveal exactly how to segment the flow of time, to identify the transition points between periods of time. When does a day or month begin, exactly? When does a year start? Further, how to start the week, or even the concept of a 7-day week, would be impossible to discern merely from Nature: God has to tell us explicitly about these rhythms and how to observe and align them or we’ll be guessing blindly.

It may seem unimportant to get the details right, but we should note that we’re dealing with foundations of life, family and communal relationships here, as well as with the revelation of a divine game plan. This is no small thing. God has given us specific instructions where we need them, on defining the week and the year, and reasonable hints at the rest if we’re interested in walking with Him in these mysterious and beautiful rhythms.

As precious and important as this all is, it should not come as any real surprise that the god of this world has re-defined every single one of these natural rhythms. Our cultural markers for days, weeks, months and years are all corrupted; none are based in God and His revelation.

Maybe it would be good to rediscover God’s divine rhythms and enjoy them as He intended. When all else fails, read the instructions. It might not be so easy, given all the corruption that’s crept in, but perhaps the effort would be fruitful; even if we don’t get it perfect, maybe we can at least get closer, and God will be pleased to help us along the way.

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Holding the Mystery

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In wrestling with paradoxes in Scripture, apparently contradictory ideas which appear in the Bible, it’s tempting to become dishonest and selectively focus on verses which encourage our bias.

Yet God expects us to explore these difficulties (Pr 25:2), and to do so with humility (Is 66:2), fearful reverence (Php 2:12), and a pure conscience (1Ti 3:9), rightly dividing the Word. (2Ti 2:15) We can’t neglect any verse; if scripture doesn’t fit, we change our theology.

On a particularly difficult topic we might list out some very clear and apparently contradictory verses, prayerfully note the wording and context of each one, and ask God to align our thinking and actions with Him. It isn’t merely academic: we walk in the light to be in fellowship with Him. (1Jn 1:7) We’re also equipping ourselves to provide a reasonable answer to those who are seeking. (1Pe 3:15)

For example, how do we reconcile Man’s Free Will with God’s Sovereignty? Are we just puppets or do we have any real say in how things go?

What has God told us?

God says He is perfectly just and right in all He does. (De 32:4)

No one seeks after God (Ro 3:11b) or receives the testimony of Christ. (Jn 3:32)

No one can come to Christ except the Father draws them (Jn 6:44); everyone the Father gives to Christ will come to Him (Jn 6:37a), and those who come to Christ will never ever be cast out or away from Christ under any circumstances. (37b)

Believers were given spiritual life by God even though they were dead to Him in rebellion and sin (Ep 2:1-3), when they were alienated and enemies in their mind by wicked works. (Co 1:21)

God chooses those who will believe in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love (Ep 1:4), having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto Himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. (5)

Believers have already obtained a spiritual inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him Who works all things after the counsel of His own will. (Ep 1:11)

God commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sin and unbelief. (Ac 17:30)

God can give repentance to people. (2Ti 2:25)

God can give faith to people (giving them supernatural assurance). (Ro 12:3)

God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (He 13:6), and we should seek God without delay. (Is 55:6)

Everyone who seeks (God) will find (Him). (Mt 7:7-8)

We should ask God to make us go in the path of His commandments (Ps 119:35), to order our steps in His word and not let any iniquity have dominion over us. (133)

God works in believers to will and to do of His good pleasure. (Php 2:13)

We devise our way but God directs our steps. (Pr 16:9)

All things work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to His purpose. (Ro 8:28)

God will have all people to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. (1Ti 2:4) He will never turn anyone away who is truly seeking Him. (Mt 11:28-30)

Few will be saved. (Mt 7:14)

We should strive to enter God’s kingdom and be saved. (Lk 13:23-24)

Those who are not seeking and finding salvation in God have no excuse. (Ro 1:20)

God is very angry with everyone who does not believe on Christ (Jn 3:36); those who don’t believe in Christ are condemned because they do not believe. (3:18)

We can know we have eternal life (1Jn 5:13), and we should diligently ensure that we have been elected unto salvation. (2Pe 1:10)

Perhaps this is sufficient to capture the scope of this particular paradox. How should these truths impact our walk and witness?

There is evidently a correlation between seeking God and finding Him, between striving to enter the narrow way and actually entering, between diligently ensuring that we are elect of God and actually being elected by Him.

So, we should diligently seek God for salvation until we are sure He has saved us and carefully and continually try to make choices consistent with the truth as we understand it. We should continually thank God for our salvation and rejoice in it, recognizing He is doing it all in us and for us when we cannot help ourselves. We should pursue God and righteousness, spiritual understanding and wisdom, in every way we are able. We should pray as if everything depends on God and choose to act as if it depends on us. We should encourage everyone who will listen to do the same.

It’s OK to live within a paradox, and this one has troubled many; let’s live according to the truth we know until God reveals more to us.

Is my will free? I certainly have a will, and I do make choices; I have no sense that anyone one is forcing me. I experience some control over what I do and how I act, and the better choices I make the easier it seems to be to make even better choices. When and how God is working in me is a mystery, what part I play and what part He plays is evidently not mine to precisely know. That’s how He has designed life, and it is good.

I purpose to make the best choices I can, while continually asking God to help me make better ones. As I find myself making good choices, I thank God; as I miss the mark, I ask Him to help me.

Is there any good reason to not live like this? Do we need any more theology to do so? I think God has shown us enough. As we need to know, He will guide us.

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Flee From the Wrath

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The Bible says God is very angry with all who aren’t believing on Christ (Jn 3:36), and that Christ Himself is angry with all who aren’t worshipping Him. (Ps 2:12). How do we flee from the wrath of God and of His Son? (Lk 3:7)

Whether one believes in God or not, the possibility God might exist and that He might be angry ought to be sobering. (Ac 17:30) If God might exist it is rational to act as if He might, and if He might be angry then acting accordingly is likewise rational.

This follows from Pacal’s Wager: given the remotest prospect (any non-zero probability) of suffering the infinite fury of an angry God, the expected loss of neglecting to avoid it is infinite. (2Co 5:11) What does this look like in practical terms?

We might try to flee from God, but how does one flee Omnipresence? Presuming there’s a place where God is not is foolish at best. (Ac 17:28)

The only rational response is to order our lives to please God as well as we can (i.e. repent) (Lk 3:8-9) and search for a way to be reconciled with Him. No other path is acceptable. (Ro 1:18-19)

Once we start looking in earnest for evidence of God and of His ways, it’s not so difficult to find. Irreducible Complexity in Nature becomes sufficient proof of God’s existence, power and wisdom: only those blindly presuming Philosophical Materialism as a faith-axiom can miss this. (Ro 1:20)

Acting as if God exists also implies giving Him the benefit of the doubt regarding His nature: acting as if God is good – that He’s both loving and just. For if God is not good there’s no rational way to minimize our expected loss (i.e. all bets are off). Presuming God is good is rational since this minimizes the likelihood of offending Him.

Following this reasoning, seeking reconciliation with God is also straightforward: only Christianity portrays God as both just and loving; all other religions both downplay the potential of human sinfulness and offer reconciliation with divinity apart from justice, as if repentance and personal merit can somehow atone for eternal sin — all the while rejecting this concept in all of our civil institutions: no one really believes proper order can exist in the universe without justice.

And no other religion addresses how any sin against an infinitely good and holy God can be less than infinite … or justly atoned for without paying an infinite penalty. Christianity offers us both.

As we earnestly seek, we find we’re all guilty before God: He is justly angry with us for our sin and will punish us eternally unless we flee to His Son as our propitiation (1Jn 2:2), God Himself suffering the infinite penalty for our sin (1Jn 3:16), and hide ourselves in Him. (Ps 119:114) This is the only way to flee from the wrath to come.

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The Same Loveth Little

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In the story of the forgiven woman (Lk 7:47), Christ reveals a natural correlation between love for Him and a perception of how much one has been forgiven. So, if I only love Christ Jesus a little bit, this is because I think I have only been forgiven a little bit.

This is certainly a key to help me grow in my love for Yeshua Messiah, into an overwhelming appreciation and thanksgiving for His willingness to redeem me: I may explore my own forgiveness by exploring my own sinfulness, for all my sin is primarily against Christ, the eternal Creditor with Whom I have to deal. (He 4:13) So, how much have I been forgiven?

It isn’t hard to acknowledge that my sins are many, and that they’re inexcusable. (Ro 3:19) Yet these are merely the sins I am aware of, which I can recall, and I happen to think they are not so very bad; I have never been drunk or murdered anyone, nor ever even wanted to experience sex outside of marriage. I’ve been pretty good so far, at least by human standards. (2Co 10:12)

But there are certainly many other sins long forgotten, where I knew I was sinning against God and was only afraid of being caught. Of these I have also been freely forgiven. Yet even then, being forgiven a bit of youthful mischief doesn’t move my heart to tears. (Ps 25:7)

Then I must proceed in faith to acknowledge that these are not the worst of my sins, for I have learned to measure sin by the harm I think it causes others, and whether I think they deserve it or not. (Ge 3:22a)

Yet God does not measure sin this way; He evaluates sin based on how I have disvalued and dishonored Him — in other words, He is looking at my behavior in light of the First and Great Command, that I love Jehovah God with my whole heart, with my entire being. (Mt 22:37-38)

In other words, the greatest of my sins are in violating the greatest command, and these sins are against an infinitely worthy God, so they are effectively infinite in degree or magnitude (Ps 103:11): I really have no idea how much God has actually forgiven me. (Is 6:5) So, I am, in fact, largely clueless about the very worst of my sins; the severity is largely hidden from me. (Is 64:6)

And further, as if this were not enough, what of all the sin I would have committed, even as a believer, if God had not mercifully intervened and restrained me? (Ge 20:6) What manner of sin lies hidden here, for which I would certainly be guilty had God not been holding me back all this time? (Php 2:13) This is certainly real, yet also a bit clinical and academic: I struggle to appreciate it fully from my heart.

Ultimately, I must also consider my eternal fate if Father God had not chosen me to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. (2Th 2:13) What horrendous crimes might I have committed apart from the irresistible grace of God? These might have exceeded the depravity of every other living soul, past present and future. Since I would certainly have committed them if God had left me entirely to myself, I must account that I have been released even from these, though I did not actually commit them. (1Ti 1:15)

Until I can stand alongside the forgiven woman, weeping with rejoicing before Jesus Christ in overwhelming appreciation for the infinite mercy He has lavished upon me, washing His feet with my tears, I need God to continue to help me understand the infinite magnitude of my sin, and the incredible mercy He has shown me in saving my soul from death. (1Ti 1:16)

The place to return and wait for such grace is the foot of the Cross, the throne of grace (He 4:16), contemplating the infinite price Christ Jesus freely paid on my behalf. (2Co 5:21) Any lesser penalty would have been insufficient to atone for my crimes.

The King Himself, Who has every right to be angry with me (1Th 1:10), has chosen instead to wash me from my sins in His own blood. (Re 1:5) and adopt me as His own son. (Ro 8:15) It cost Him everything to do this for me … literally everything. (He 4:16) It makes perfect sense to start here, and stay here, until I get it. (1Co 2:2) He will help me. (Ro 7:24-25a)

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